RE: GNU Emacs raison d'etre

[Drew Adams]

> I like the idea of the minibuffer being "near point"
> rather than at the bottom of my screen, but at the
> same time I don't like the minibuffer hiding text
> "near point".

Exactly.  Having used both (a user option that I
mentioned), I'd say each has pros & cons, and
those differ depending on what you're doing.

E.g., for `M-x', `M-:' and the like, you (I)
typically don't need/want it near point, but
it doesn't bother me there.  But for an
interaction that involves text near point it
can be a real drag.

Perhaps this could be improved with a bit of
smart DWIM and user configuration.

> Another issue is that it only applies to actual minibuffer use, so it
> doesn't affect Isearch nor echo-area messages, but for me a significant
> part of the problem of having the minibuffer "all the way down" is that
> I don't see echo messages either (i.e. it's not just the minibuffer
> per-se but all uses of the mini-window).

Hm.  That's true.  But on the other hand,
you always know where to look for a message,
when you do expect one.  And the annoyance
of a minibuffer frame warping to get near
point would be multiplied if done also for
echo-area use.

It could certainly be done, at least for
`message'. I haven't offered it because I
haven't been convinced of its value.  But
maybe some users would prefer it, so maybe
I should consider it (or at least try it).